Archive | November, 2010

(PTI) The US had multiple conversations with Indian officials on the release of secret documents pertaining to India by the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, according to the State Department.

“We have had multiple conversations with officials in India. And like India and other countries, we’ll continue those conversations in the coming days,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley said at his daily news conference.

Ahead of WikiLeaks’ release of a quarter million classified US documents, the State Department had reached out to India warning it about the impending leak.

“We have reached out to India to warn them about a possible release of documents,” Crowley had said. “We do not know precisely what WikiLeaks has or what it plans to do.

We have made our position clear. These documents should not be released,” he had said.

(PTI) Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is inquiring into alleged leak of tapes of telephone conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and politicians, journalists and industrialists.

“We have not ordered an inquiry. The CBDT is inquiring into the matter…It was the CBDT which had ordered the interceptions and it is looking into the alleged leakage of the tapes,” he told a press conference here.

The CBDT had conducted the phone tappings over a period of time for which the sanction was given by the Home Ministry.

The secret tapes had come into the public domain recently after certain media groups published transcripts of the same.

As per the CBI, which is probing the alleged 2G spectrum scam, it was examining transcripts relating to 5,000 calls.

Nearly 104 tapping records are out in the market, official sources had said.

(PTI) After wastage of 13 consecutive working days, the entire Winter session of Parliament appears set to be lost as efforts to break the government-opposition stand-off over JPC issue failed today with both sides hardening their positions.

At an all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the Opposition made it clear that it will not allow Parliament to function till JPC into 2G spectrum allocation is set up but the government said the demand was “unacceptable”.

The Opposition parties also emphasised that it will not be satisfied by anything less than JPC, rejecting government’s proposal for Supreme Court monitored CBI probe into 2G scam.

The government also ruled out sine die adjournment of the session which is slated to conclude on December 13.

(PTI) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent a cable to American embassies and missions around the world in 2009, ostensibly directing the diplomats to be part of the intelligence, according to classified documents made public by the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks today.

The 8,358-word National Humint Collection Directive (Humint being Human Intelligence) “reflects the results of a recent Washington review of reporting and collection needs focussed on the United Nations,” the documents say.

The information Clinton directed the diplomats to ascertain ranged from basic biographical data such as diplomats’ names and addresses to their frequent flier and credit card numbers, to even “biometric information on ranking North Korean diplomats.” Typical biometric information includes fingerprints, signatures and iris recognition.

(PTI) The government today ordered a probe into the leaks of recorded tapes of conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, her clients and certain journalists among others.

The order to initiate a probe into the matter comes on a day when Tata group chief Ratan Tata approached the Supreme Court seeking action against those involved in the leakage of tapes containing his conversation with Radia.

Home Ministry sources said the probe would be conducted by the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and will focus on finding out who leaked it and how.

Incidentally, the CBDT had conducted the phone tappings over a period of time for which the sanction was given by the Home Ministry.

The secret tapes had come into the public domain recently after certain media groups published transcripts of the same.

(PTI) Ending days of suspense, rebel Congress MP Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today announced his decision to resign from the party and Lok Sabha alleging that the Congress “humiliated” his family.

In a five-page ‘open letter’, first read out on his television channel ‘Sakshi’ this morning, the Kadapa MP and the son of late Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S R Reddy, also said his mother Vijayamma, who is an MLA from Pulivendula constituency, would too quit her seat and the party.

The belligerent MP accused the Congress leadership of trying to drive a “wedge” in his family by offering to make his uncle Y S Vivekananda Reddy, a member of the state Legislative Council, a minister in the Kiran Kumar Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh.

(PTI) Key papers pertaining to the scam-ridden Adarsh housing society are missing from the Urban Development Department here, police said today.

Police have registered a case of theft after a secretary of the department, Gurudas Bajpe, gave a written complaint to the Marine Drive police last night about the missing documents.

“We have registered a case against unknown persons.

According to the UD department officials, several papers from the 10 files on Adarsh society were missing,” DCP Cherring Dorje said.

The disappearance of the papers was brought to the notice of CBI, which is investigating the multi-crore scam.

“The department had submitted to us 10 files pertaining to Adarsh society. During perusal we realised that four noting papers were missing from the files. We brought this to the attention of the department,” a senior CBI official said.

Guangzhou,(PTI) The men’s and women’s kabaddi teams expectedly maintained their supremacy by clinching the gold as India created history by recording their best-ever medal tally in the Asian Games by adding six more medals on a productive 14th day of competitions here today.

While the kabaddi teams did not sweat much to keep their reputation intact in rather lopsided finals, long distance runners Preeja Sreedharan and Kavita Raut had their moment of glory by winning the silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 5000 m event.

Rollersports fetched India a couple of unexpected bronze medals with Anup Kumar Yama bagging one in men’s single free skating before combining with Avani Panchal to finish third in the pairs skating event.